Spock's Angel
by Verya
Summary: When Spock was 16 years old, he made a discovery that would influence his life for years to come. Prompt information included inside. Will include violence and mild language.
1. Chapter 1

Spock's parents had taken him to many worlds during their diplomatic trips; admittedly this had to be one of the more interesting voyages. Rather than endless meetings and highly controlled tours this world had only derelict ruins. Spock found the study of ancient civilizations much more fascinating than existing ones, discovering the reasons why the planet or culture had failed its own people showed differences in evolution no textbook could teach. At the moment they were being escorted through the halls in the capital of the extinct culture. It seemed that their architecture and artistic forms had merged at some point in their history, allowing for the strange crystal formations implanted in the wall.

There must be aesthetic quality he did not understand, he hoped the archeologists had files on the topic on why these crystals were held in such high regard. It would be an interesting culture to study while on the planet, though he was much more interested in how the architecture remained standing and how the walls retained their structural integrity without upkeep. He heard his name being called and hurried to catch up to his parents, his curiosity at the architecture had kept him lingering behind.

The ground below his feet disappeared and he fell almost seven meters to the floor below. A small cry came from his throat in surprise, even a Vulcan couldn't see the logic behind the floor deciding to collapse. He remembered his fighting lessons and prepared for the landing. If he was incorrect in his calculations he could break his ankles or legs. Spock felt the impact and rolled with it, covering his head so the falling stone would not harm him. Once Spock was sure nothing else would fall on him and he had not broken any bones, Spock released his hands and looked around the chamber he was now in. Much like the one above it was made out of dark yellow stone with other colored decorations adorning the walls in geometric patterns. He narrowed his eyes to focus on the cave in, it looked like an isolated failure of the buildings support structure and he calculated that his parents would be safe as long as they didn't venture to close to the edge.

"Spock," he heard his mother call as she leaned over the edge, he could see his father trying to pull her back to safety. "Spock!"

"I'm unhurt," Spock called, stepping foreword so that he could be seen. "The cave in appears to be isolated, the rest of the room is stable."

"Is there a doorway?" Sarek asked, not visible to him.

"Yes," Spock replied, "I will try to find a way upstairs, if I am unable I will return here."

"Be careful Spock!" Amanda called, worry still showing through her voice. He quickly made his way over to the stone doorway and shined the emergency light from his pack up the slightly sloping floor.

The color of the walls stayed the same, but the wall paint turned to inlaid crystals that seemed to grow right out of the wall until they became the wall. Spock paused to examine one and saw that they gave out a small glow that couldn't fully illuminate the room. He followed the crystals and found a smaller chamber that was even darker than the previous ones he'd been in, the only light source was a glowing crystal in the far corner of the room. Spock paused and approached it, noticing something different about this specific crystal, it was shaped like a casket.

A feeling settled in the back of Spock's mind as he walked towards it, something telling him to continue walking towards it. It was as if he'd seen the casket somewhere before, and whatever lay inside _needed_ to be discovered. He _had_ to open it.

Spock paused before the crystal casket, the strange gold current running through the ice-like substance making it difficult to see inside. He leaned in close and saw a young girl lying inside, resting on a cloth bed that was also emitting a faint glow. Spock braced his hand on the top to get even closer when suddenly it shifted beneath him, air hissing out before the pressure equalized. When nothing more happened he set his hands on the lid and pushed it fully off the base of the casket. The dense material thudded to the ground and he received his first proper look at the child. She appeared to be of about five or six standard years of age; her skin had a strange golden tint to it and her hair was a distinct blue. She shifted and mewled in the back of her throat, revealing pointed ears under her hair. She sat up suddenly and opened her eyes, which were a clear grey with flecks of amber. She stood in the casket and the dark crimson dress she wore fell to her bare feet so just her toes were sticking out. "Hello," Spock said in basic, hoping she understood since he didn't have a translator on him.

"Dragos! Jus visi gerai!" She said, throwing her arms around him. Spock did not have time to react before she was climbing down and pulling him towards another doorway. "Ateiti. Turime rasti motinos ir tévo."

"Wait," Spock said, catching her before she stepped on shards of crystal. "The floor is covered in shards and you are without foot apparel." The girl's eyes suddenly got very wide as she realized she did not know the man in the room.

"Jūs ne mano brolis," she said, "Kas jūs esate?" Her hand jolted out of his and she dodged towards the door, eyes darting around with a calculating speed.

Spock did not understand her, but she seemed intelligent. "Please, I am here to help." Spock opened his arms in surrender and the girl stepped into them, allowing him to carry her. He did not know how long she had been there, and it would be easier to carry her so he did not have to worry about any damage she might have.

"Turétuméte pasiimti mane i sale," she said, pointing to the door she'd started for. "Mano tevai bus ten." Spock walked towards the door and followed the girl's directions, he noticed the floor sloped upwards and soon he saw light shining ahead. The two appeared in an alcove that had looked like any other wall, but but concealed the passage behind it. The girl looked around with her mouth closed and her eyes wide. Spock could feel horror and surprise through the skin contact he had with her and sent a wave a calm to her small body. He did not know why he did, it was not considered logical by most Vulcans to comfort her emotionally, but he somehow knew that he was to take care of her. With the child in his arms he walked foreword to the group of people surrounding the hole he'd fallen into.

"Sa-mekh, Ko-mekh," Spock greeted. Amanda turned quickly and ran towards her teenage son.

"Spock!" She said, moving towards him quickly. She surprised the girl in his arms and she squeaked, hiding her face in Spock's neck and clutching close to him, small body trembling. Amanda noticed the small girl and slowed her steps, Sarek by her side in a moment.

"I found her downstairs," Spock said, running his hand over her hair in a comforting manner, "She does not speak Standard. I am unsure, but she seems to know her way around the ruins." Sarek turned to ask the guide with them if any other family were touring the ruins that day. "Sa-mekh. However improbable, it seems that she is a native of this city. Her knowledge of accessing these passages suggests a familiarity that does not come with a mere overview of the facilities."

"What facts support your theory?" Sarek asked, both hands locked behind his back.

"The child lead me from where I found her back to this location without my instruction," Spock began.

"We'll have to check with the archeologists main hub and see if there were any other touring diplomats," Amanda interjected. "Her parents are probably scared to death."

"As I said, mother, she knew her way back here even though the passages we travelled through were untouched. Our guide mentioned nothing of the concealed passages such as the one I just travelled from. Lastly, she was in a type of synthetic stasis chamber in one of the subbasements. Despite the fact the surrounding areas do not seem to mirror the advances in technology required for such a feat the area shows no sign of previous excavation or any type of disturbance."

Sarek's eyebrows shot to his hair. "Show me," Sarek commanded. Spock took him back down to the chamber where he had found the girl, who was still clinging to his neck, and told him about the event. Sarek tried to remove a shard of the strange crystal for analysis, but was unable to. She asked him a few questions in her native language, and seemed to deflate every time she discovered another alien individual. Spock was unable to respond other than to touch her skin and send her waves of calm and safety, he couldn't communicate with her any other way. Shortly after the group returned upstairs.

"Spock," Amanda commanded, "Take her to the receiving area, I'll have someone bring some food and we'll figure out what how to find her parents." Spock nodded and carried the girl, who still hadn't detached from his neck, and returned to the main hall where seats and tables had been provided for their visit. When he sat the girl finally squirmed out of his grasp and stood on the table next to him so they could look eye to eye. After a moment of considering something she stood tall and squared her shoulders to the teenager.

Gently she touched her forehead and chest, moving her hand in a circle to signify, what Spock inferred, was some type of formal greeting or thanks. "Mano protas ir mano širdis jums sveikinimai ir padėkos." She smiled at him and Spock mimicked the gesture. "Koks tavo vardas?" Spock raised an eyebrow. The girl sighed and pursed her lips in thought. She grasped a stand of blue hair and jiggled it a little. "Plaukai," she said. When Spock didn't reply she reached out and touched his head, gently patting his hair. "Plaukai."

"Isachya," Spock replied, "Hair."

"Isachya," she repeated, "Hair. Plaukai." She nodded happily and tugged her own ear, which was pointed. "Ausis."

"Kaluk," Spock translated. "Ear." The game began. She would point to a body part or object and say her own word for it, and Spock would translate into Vulcan and Standard. Every few terms he would quiz her and she would answer with the translations she'd learned. She was remarkably intelligent, Spock could repeat any word they had gone over and she could repeat it back in the other two languages while pointing to the meaning. Soon she knew most readily available body parts and furniture pieces in all three languages. Spock was running out of things to teach her while his parents talked, so he began to go over common greetings. He was not aware at the time, but as he was teacher her his own language, she was teaching him hers, correcting his pronunciation and diction as he corrected hers.

Across the room the two older parties were discussing the youngest. One advocating to keep the child, the other to turn her over to authorities to be taken care of. "She has no one else," Amanda argued as she watched the young creature interact with her son; hurrying away and then slowly walking up while saying a greeting in her language that Spock would translate. "We are the only people she seems familiar with so far, we should take her with us until we can find out where she belongs."

"I do now know if that is wise," Sarek said, "She may not be comfortable in Vulcan culture."

"I think she'll do fine," Amanda said, turning her gaze towards the young girl babbling with Spock. If it was her own language she was speaking it quite well, but she was already showing unprecedented understanding of Vulcan and Standard, speaking both languages well for a young child. "She seems smart enough to keep Spock occupied."

"She does seem remarkably adaptable," Sarek acknowledged. "A human education system might not challenge her readily enough. She seems to understand the theory of multiple languages."

"Human children are often enough bilingual Sarek," Amanda said, "But even I will admit that the speed she's learning is unheard of. From the looks of it she is learning both simultaneously, and from what I heard of her core language they do not share many similarities. I've never seen a child do that, not even a Vulcan one."

"I will contact the Diplomatic Corps and inform them of the situation," Sarek replied, "Until they contact me we could invite her to stay with us." Amanda nodded and hid her own smile, looking at the girl who had charmed her son. She thought that, perhaps, a little ray of light like that little girl may do Spock some good.

* * *

Author's note: Don't worry I don't do to many of these...

Disclaimer: I only own Angela and this plot line - If I owned anything else I'd be retired in the middle of nowhere with a pool.

Reviews are welcome - they help me improve (which I need to do).

Thank you for reading!

~Verya

P.S. Yes - I threw in a "girl in the box" I know - but hey, worked in Firefly and I'm giving it a shot here


	2. Chapter 2

Their young ward had been sedated for first phase of their trip, they figured the blast off would have been to traumatic considering the day she'd experienced. While she was out the family supervised her scans in medical bay.

"There has never been any creature with this biology recorded in our databases. Nurse T'Sala is currently cross-referencing with all known medical records we have access to. If you look at her genetic makeup, she is carbon based and she is similar to most other known humanoid species. The differences are in her blood, which gold based rather than iron or copper based. Examination of her skeletal structure agrees with Spock's deduction that she is within her first ten years of life."

"Doctor, what about brain development, can we detect any anomalies from extended exposure to cryogenics?" Amanda asked.

"None at this time," T'Sovik replied. "Admittedly, we do not any familiarity with her physiology, but based on small tissue samples all cellular growth and reproduction seems to be standard and stable."

"Projected life expectancy?" Sarek asked.

"The subject will reach maturity when she reaches about sixteen standard years of age. We cannot know her full life expectancy without more invasive study..."

"Which we have prohibited." Amanda interrupted, a hint of sternness in her tone.

"Yes ma'am, as I was saying we cannot know for certain, however based on the tests we have been able to complete she could life up to one hundred and fifty standard years."

"Is there any further information required to care for the child?" Spock asked.

"Yes, you should know that their planet's gravity is less than that of Vulcan and like human she will need tri-ox shots to help her lungs absorb oxygen in the thinner atmosphere. Also, Gemini Five's day is approximately six hours longer than a Vulcan day, there will have to be an adjustment in sleeping patterns. As it is, depending on how her metabolism processes the sedative, she will be awake in 4.2 hours."

Sarek nodded in reply. "Have the child brought to the main suite once her room is appropriately furnished."

"Yes sir," T'Sovik acknowledged.

"Sa-mekh, I am available to supervise the transfer."

"Very well Spock, see that everything is arranged to your ko-mekh's specifications." The teen nodded and the older two left them behind.

"You still don't think it is a good idea," Amanda said. "And don't tell me that you haven't made up your mind."

"Adun'a, for a species that is psi-null," Sarek began.

"We've been married twenty years, I can tell when you don't approve of something I'm doing."

"I merely wish to understand your motivation."

"Well bully on that because I don't understand it." Sarek posed his question to her with a raised eyebrow. "I really don't Sarek. It was just, as soon as I saw her, something told me that I needed to take care of her. Like she needs someone to look out for her. Humor me for a minute and imagine. If that poor child really is the last of her kind then she will need an advocate, who better than you to stand in as her guardian?"

"We shall see Amanda." He entered their quarters and saw the technicians from engineering were still assembling the required furniture for a child and moving their library to the main common area. "Until then I will concede that the child needs a care-taker and we are not close to any Starfleet personnel that are equipped to handle the current situation."

"Thank you dear." Sarek had learned fifteen years previous that it was extraneous to point out that thanks were illogical. "We'll need some portable terminals with translation software to help her communicate and probably a few toys to gauge her intellectual development. I'll get the toys if you program the padds Adun?" He nodded and set a requisition form so they would be delivered to the room.

Spock busied himself with school work while he awaited the girl's awakening. The dosage she'd been given would have worn off on a Vulcan child by now but it appeared their physiological differences allowed for the longer time it was taking her body to process the drugs. He noted the difference on the medical padd his mother had left to keep track of what treatments were safe.

"Kur as esu?" A small voice asked, interrupting his thoughts. She was sitting up with her hands clutched around her knees looking very uncomfortable. Spock suppressed a feeling of empathy, he was not fond of sick bay either.

"You are on a diplomatic ship en route for Vulcan," Spock replied.

"As tik suprato zodj Vulcan," the girl said, ducking her head as her ears dusted a darker gold. She looked around with questioning eyes. "Kokia tai vieta?"

"This is medical bay, if you can stand then we may walk back to our rooms where you will be staying." The girl cocked her head to one side, which Spock understood from earlier observation conveyed confusion. He stood form his chair and mimed the action with his hands. "Lamok, stand."

"Stovéti," The girl replied, also rising to her feet. "Lamok, stand." Spock nodded and paced a short distance away, then back. "Im'roi, walk, vaikscioti." She extended her arms and Spock helped her down from the high biobed so they could go back to their rooms. Her legs were still weak from her time in cryostasis, but she made it all the way back under her own power before tugging on his pant leg. "As pavargau."

"Do you need anything?" Amanda asked, kneeling down in front of the child.

"As pavargau," she repeated, she folded her hand and mimed laying down on them. "Man reikia miegoti." She closed her eyes with a small yawn and mimed the action again. "Miegoti."

"Sleep, yuk," Amanda translated. "She's sleepy. Adun, is her bed made up yet?"

"No, but we can make it while the child bathes and changes her cloths."

"Ok, I'll take care of that, Spock, can you make up the bed so your father can finish programming the language pads."

"Yes mother," Spock replied.

Amanda lifted the exhausted girl and carried her into the bathroom. "Come on you, lets get you cleaned and changed. You've had one big day haven't you?"

"As nezinau, ka jus sakote, bet jus skamba grazus." The girl replied as she let herself be carried, her head falling foreword to rest on Amanda's shoulder.

Thankfully the girl did not have any aversion to water as Spock had when he was a child, a trait form her Vulcan husband. Rather than bathe as efficiently as possible and get out of the water, she gently played with the water and seemed to be enchanted by the clear liquid. Amanda showed her how to wash her hair and then gently patted it dry with a towel. When that was done she was carted off to the newly assembled bed and went straight to sleep. It wasn't until the next morning that Amanda saw the child again, curled up in the chair and already awake.

"Good morning," Amanda said, briefly forgetting that the girl was not educated in standard.

"Good morning," she replied with a slight accent. "You sleep good?"

"You spoke standard!"

"I start learn," she smiled. "I break fast in kitchen and find lesson language."

"You're learning very quickly," Amanda said. "How long have you been at that?"

She turned back to her pad and typed in a few commands, the computerized voice read it out and the girl mimicked the sounds despite the heavy accent. "Thank you. I have been working on Standard for five hours." She turned and looked back at Amanda with more hesitant speech without the padd, showing that she was in great in of instruction for syntax and grammar. "It no easy, learning hard is. Vulcan hard more."

"Yes it is," Amanda said. "Do you have a name sweetie?" The girl cocked her head. "I am Amanda. What are you called?"

She keyed in a few more commands. "No word for name," she said quietly. "No name. I do not have one."

"Well, what do you think about the name Angela?" Amanda replied after a moment of consideration. "The name seems to fit you."

"Angela, I like it."

"Well Angela, what did you eat for breakfast?"

The newly dubbed Angela cued an order into the padd and pointed. "That."

Amanda sat next to the girl and leaned in to see the picture. "Terran apples, that's good but not very filling."

"Ap...ple...app...le," Angela screwed up her face in concentration as her tongue tripped over the double letter. "Word not easy."

Amanda laughed and wrapped her arms around the girl. "You'll get it. Are you still hungry?" She shook her hair. "Do you think you will be?"

"Yes," Angela replied, smiling and giggling a little.

"Ok, I will show you how to replicate something a little more filling and we'll have breakfast ready for the boys. Come on, show me what you understood with those language padds." Angela retained much that she learned previously, but her available knowledge was mostly restricted to objects that she could see and indicate.

Under the tutelage of her three companions, Angela was marginally competent in both Standard and Vulcan by the time their ship returned to the desert planet. It had only been eight weeks since the young girl had been found, and everyone who had met her agreed that she was a creature of great intelligence. Spock had taken to spending most of his days with her when he was going over his own work so that he could support her whenever she had questions about her own language studies. By the time the two departed for Vulcan's surface, Angela almost never left Spock's side. Fifteen weeks after Angela's discovery, she was fluent enough in both languages to begin higher training in grammar and dialect. Two weeks after that, Amanda was running out of things for the girl to read.

"We have to send her to school," Amanda said the next morning over breakfast. "I'm basically out of things for her to read and if she breaks into the encyclopedias of Earth I don't know when we'll see her again. That girl is worse than you boys when it comes to reading, and I didn't even know that was possible."

"I did not believe that the acquisition knowledge was not something to aspire to," Spock replied.

"You know what I mean." Amanda looked over at her young ward. "Would you be interested in going to school?"

"Yes," Angela said, her eyes lighting up in delight. "Thank you, that would be wonderful. Spock told me about the learning stations, they sound great."

"That's decided. Sarek, can you order the uniforms so they can be fit this afternoon? Spock, I'll send a requisition so that you can bring home her school files with you."

"Of course Amanda."

"Yes mother.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Sorry for disappearing - family stuff happened. Anyway - thank you for all the patience while we get through the expo, we should only have another chapter or two of set up (queue the inspirational montage music if you so desire) before we get down and dirty with the plot/character development. Still don't own anything.

* * *

Angela tugged the collar of her school uniform straight and gave herself a little smile in the mirror. Amanda had braided her hair earlier that morning, a different hairstyle then the ones she remembered her own mother wearing and weaving, but it functioned. Spock had walked her up the steps to the school and informed her of how to reach her classes. The building was still a labyrinth to the learning pods where her class.

"Hello," the teacher said when she walked into the room. "Are you the ward of Ambassador Sarek?"

"Yes," she replied, relaxing her face like Amanda had taught her, "I'm Angela. Thank you for accepting me into your class."

"Thanks are illogical, you were enrolled into this class," the teacher replied.

Angela ducked her head slightly in her own cultural gesture before straightening up again. "Which learning bowl is to be mine?"

"Number 42," the instructor replied. "Alert me if you have any questions."

"That would be logical," Amanda replied, moving past the female to the room and where the rest of her Vulcan classmates were waiting. She quickly walked over to the indent and walked down the side. The bowl lit around the edges and formulas appeared around her, waiting to be solved.

"Please log in." The computerized voice commanded.

"New student, login needs to be created," Angela said.

"Response incorrect, please call for assistance."

Angela turned and climbed back up, looking towards the instructor. "Savensu, the computer is not recognizing the command to set up a new student log in." The teacher pulled out her display and plugged in a few commands.

"Your log in is set up, you should alter your password after your first log in so that no one else can access your account."

"That would be logical," Angela replied. "Though in anticipation of a new student's arrival, it would have been more efficient to have the log in prepared. So, thank you for assisting me." She turned and entered the learning bowl again, pulling up a keyboard and keying in a complicated password translated from her own language. She did not notice the teacher make a notation in her padd before continuing her route to check on the other students.

Angela was to busy soaking up the information from the computer. It was programmed to start her at level one, most of which Spock had taught her on their way from her planet. Some of the cultural history required more explanation than she had been given in the short time, and a few translations had her stumped, but soon enough she was moving quickly through the exercises. Not as quickly as her Vulcan classmates, but much faster than her instructor had anticipated. When the group broke for their midday meal, Angela lingered a few moments to finish up her thought. Unfortunately it gave a few of her classmates time to linger and stare at the new girl, whose brightly pigmented biology was so different from their own.

"Your hair color is illogical," one tall boy a year older said.

"As is your statement," Angela replied. His classmates turned and looked at him, wondering what he would say next.

"Did you just call me illogical?" The boy asked. "I am Vulcan."

"Yes, I observed that," Angela gathered her padd under her arm and moved to walk around the group. "You will excuse me, it is time for the midday meal and this conversation serves no point."

He grabbed her arm in a tight grip. "You will explain your offending sentence."

"You will unhand me."

"Explain your statement." Another student bit out.

Angela bit back a sigh and wrestled her arm away from him, hoping to placate the older group. "My hair color may be illogical for a Vulcan, but I'm not Vulcan. Therefor, it is not illogical for my hair to be… what is your word… blue. Now please excuse me, you are infringing on the dining time and a midday meal is required for proper focus in the afternoon classes."

The other boy stepped into her way. Angela suddenly realized how much smaller she was next to the alien species. He could easily lift and throw her, she suppressed the shiver of fear. "You control your emotions very well for someone who is not Vulcan, the Ambassador must have instructed you well. I wonder if you also require physical stimuli to react emotionally as his son does." He reached foreword and shoved Angela to the ground, her padd tumbled free of her grip and the screen cracked against the hard floor. A jolt of pain went up Angela's arm and she hissed, quickly moving away and cradling the limb her to chest. "It appears that what my brother tells me is…" Without waiting for the older boy to finish his sentence, Angela threw her padd at him and took off at a run for the students dining hall. The few moments he was distracted by the instrument flying at his face gave her the window needed to escape, but the longer legged males were close behind her.

* * *

Spock stood when he saw Angela run into the lunch hall with two other students in tow, her arm clutched to her chest. He forgot his lunch tray and moved towards the young girl looking her her shoulder. She ran smack into his legs and looked up in fear as his hand on her shoulder steadied her. Before he could ask her what had happened she was behind his legs and the other students had skidded to a halt in front of them.

"You will not move," Spock instructed, keeping his eyes on the two young males as he summoned an instructor over to them. "Savensu, these boys have injured my father's ward. I will take a tray for her and escort her to the infirmary so that she may finish her midday meal there. My father will want to know what punishment these boys receive for their behavior, please foreword him the information once it has been decided."

"It's not that bad," Angela said quietly as Spock lifted her into his arms.

"You are minimizing the injury, it needs to be examined if you cannot move it without pain."

"She should not logically exist, the rest of her culture is dead so she should be too!" The boy shouted after Spock. "There is no reason that I should be punished."

"This child is most likely royalty, or at least the member of a high ranking family in her culture," Spock replied. "Should her family still be alive, they will want to know how she was treated during her stay on Vulcan. It is possible that you may have damaged the relationship between two cultures with your acts." Spock turned on his heel and picked up a tray from the server.

"You know that my whole family is dead?" Angela asked the moment they were out of the room.

It was the first time Spock had heard her mention the rest of her people. Since she had come into his family months ago, she had always dodged the question about her people, stating that she did not know what had happened. "That is not an excuse for the way you were treated. You still have a prominent family Angela, one who will not sit idly by while you are mistreated." He raised his hand to the back of her neck and she put her face into his neck, her whole body relaxing at the comforting gesture. "Your wrist will be examined for injury and then you will finish your lunch before returning to afternoon classes."

"You're going to call Miss Amanda instead of Mr. Sarek, aren't you?"

"I will call our home, whomever answers first will be the one that I speak to." They both knew that Amanda would be the only on at the house during the day.

* * *

"I think we should consider adopting her Sarek," Amanda argued that night in their quarters after Angela had been put to bed. "If the diplomatic corps hasn't found her family by now, I think it's safe to assume that she doesn't have any living relatives. She told Spock this afternoon that her relatives were dead."

"We are not her family," Sarek stated simply. "She is an emotional child who may not fare well on Vulcan."

"She does fine with you and Spock, she's already picked up on when to behave quietly and when it is appropriate…"

"The incident at her school today may only be the first of many incidents. 'Romping' with you in a couch fort and challenging Spock to a 'pillow duel' is hardly appropriate behavior."

"The incident was not her fault. As to the aftermath, she was behind closed doors and helped clean up the mess afterwards. Sometimes a little bit of mess is a good thing."

"Angela distracted Spock from his studies for 0.3761 hours."

"I think a twenty minute break in eight hours of study is perfectly reasonable. Your son is half human and he should entertain some emotions so that it doesn't bottle up and explode." She pulled her braid over her shoulder and tied off the end before climbing into their bed. "Besides, we both know that Vulcans control their emotions, not ignore them entirely." She smiled and trailed her first two fingers from his arm to his pulse point on his jaw. "Either way she needs a guardian. Who better than you to make sure she is taken care of."

"We will continue this discussion later, wife," Sarek said, reaching back to turn out the light. "In the morning."

* * *

Twelve hours later Sarek ended his conference call with the high council and the Starfleet admiralty. He leaned back and steepled his hands in front of his face; his wife was not going to like the outcome of his conversation. Wether or not anyone would believe it, he had fought hard to keep the child's guardianship. He had felt the same urge Amanda did to protect the child, to keep her safe from anyone that could hurt her. Despite his original misgivings about the girl, keeping her on Vulcan had come to… feel like the right thing to do.

It could have been the reason for the Vulcan High Council to side with Starfleet in removing the girl from the planet so that she could reside with a guardian on Earth. Angela seemed to evoke those types of protective emotions in those around her, at least when it came to his family. Spock had already proved to be a strong source of support for the girl on their return trip from her own planet. Her trust in them allowed Amanda to give the child a name, and his own acceptance had given her a home. His argument that stability would be the best source for her had been turned down despite the fact she had excelled all expectations at the Vulcan Elementary Academy. Even his angle of studying her had been disapproved, with her remarkable intelligence and adaptability the council seemed too afraid of the emotions she raised.

"I'm guessing by that look they didn't agree with us," Amanda said. "They're taking her, aren't they?"

"Yes, she is being transported to Starfleet headquarters at the end of the week," Sarek replied. "I managed to get in a clause that while she will be under the care of Starfleet, she is still our ward and we have final say in any extenuating circumstances. So if anything should happen while she is under the care of Starfleet, she will immediately be removed and taken to the Vulcan embassy."

"How would we be able to do that? The Vulcans only have so much power on Earth even with diplomatic immunity."

"But as a Terran citizen, you can go wherever you wish without detection. If needs be we could use you or Spock to remove her, then once you use dual citizenship to get into the embassy, I can have her taken from there the same hour."

"Is there any logical motivation behind that clause?"

"I do not know, I have never experienced this…. feeling. I can tell that she needs to be protected, prudence is logical and we should prepare for the worst situation. Ideally, she will be placed with a loving guardian and excel in her new environment. Angela has proven to be a resilient child and should handle the move well once it is explained to her."

Sarek was right, though Angela was not at all happy with the situation she understood why the caring adults had to hand her over. Amanda kept the child home for the rest of the week to help her Standard skills and selecting a school for her to enroll at once she arrived in San Francisco. To the small family, it seemed as though time moved more quickly till they were standing inside the hanger bay with a small suitcase.

"Here," Spock said, crouching down so he could look at the small child. He pulled out the small stuffed sehlat and extended it towards her. Amanda had gotten the small stuffed creature after I-Chaya had died and he'd kept it because he knew she'd want him to, though it seemed appropriate to give it to her. Angela smiled widely and gave her little squeak that he'd come to signify with an endearment towards him. She hugged the stuffed animal to her with one arm and then wrapped them both around Spock, her smile fading a little as a whine built in the back of her throat. Spock returned the hug, knowing it would comfort her, and gently ran his hand through her hair. "There is no need to worry; your guardian will take good care of you."

"Promise?" She asked, extending her pinky in a ridiculous gesture. When he didn't extend his own she plumped her lower lip in a pout. "Symbols have meaning to remind those viewing it of the spoken or nonverbal message behind them Spock." He couldn't help but let a smile in his eyes and extended his pinky, linking it with hers. Amanda was able to keep the tears in her eyes as Angela hugged him again and than ran over to the woman who knelt to hug her as well. "I'll see you soon Miss Amanda." Surprisingly she turned to Sarek and all emotion dropped from her face, though not her eyes as she raised her hand in the traditional salute. "Live long and prosper Mr. Sarek."

"And you Angela," Sarek replied, returning the gesture. "Peace and long life." She turned and walked to the human waiting for her, looking up at the tall man with a smile that wasn't returned right away. Sarek consoled his wife by saying that she would be transferred to a family once she reached Earth. Spock looked after the young girl and felt a strange emotion flit across his consciousness, an illogical wish that he would see Angela again soon


	4. Chapter 4

Two years later.

* * *

Spock nearly sighed as he entered the pool deck of the gym, other cadets were lined up waiting to take their swim test. The past week of exams had not been as challenging as his VSA tests, but they were not something to be taken lightly. While the intellectual tests were easy in comparison, some of the applied tests presented a challenge with a multi-cultural system. Everyone assumed that as an ambassador's son he had been exposed to the universe at a young age rather than being contained on Vulcan in school except for his breaks. The rare ventures were usually to relics or tourist locations that served as family trips.

The physical tests had been some of the worst, he continually had to focus so that none of his opponents were hurt in combat scoring and the weight lifting machines had not been calibrated correctly. The latter of the two events ended with a trip to the infirmary for a broken nose and three loose teeth. He was about to join them when he felt a small thump against his side and something latch around his waist. He looked down to see a very blue head of hair snuggled into his side. A moment later it was thrown back to reveal a gold face smiling widely with sparkling grey eyes he had not seen in two years. "Got ya!" Spock's mild irritation at his tests disappeared at the appearance of the young girl.

"Indeed," Spock replied, putting his hand on the child's back.

"Why is it that I have not seen my big brother when you've been on Earth for a week?" She asked, pulling at the arm and silently demanding that he carry her. Spock picked the girl up by an arm and held her to him. Despite the two years since they'd seen each other she remained quite small and he was still able to hold her with one arm around her back. "You promised you were going to call."

"My tests have occupied most of my time since arrival," Spock said, "I thought it would be more prudent to wait until we could arrange a visit to contact you."

"Lady Amanda taught you better about emotional creatures," She said, resting her head against his shoulder, "Just seeing you would have been nice."

"Your standard is exceptional," Spock commented. He was going to complement the young woman on her proficiency when a ranking officer arrived.

"Angela," he barked, scanning the area until his eyes finally rested on her. Spock noticed her duck her head a little but just rested his hand on her back. "What have I told you about wandering off?"

"I wasn't wandering," Angela said as Spock set her on the ground. "I was going to see my brother."

"You mean Cadet Spock," the commander replied, "Thank you for keeping an eye on her Cadet, I believe you should join your classmates."

"I will Commander," Spock said, "May I have your contact information so that I may converse with Angela at a later time?"

"We will discuss this later," he replied to the child before offering his attention to the male, "My information is in the directory under Saunders." Spock may not have agreed with anything the commander said, but he had not been privileged to the same reports his parents were. He would contact his mother alter to see if Angela had been acting out against her guardians. "I don't mean to be rude, but Angela is already late for school. Come along." He gripped her by the shoulder and pulled her, Spock noticed a small wince cross Angela's features and he fought down the urge to take her back from his ranking officer.

He watched the two go and was approached by his advisor, Commander Pike. The older man followed his line of sight and then looked back at Spock. "Cadet, do you know Saunder's ward?"

"Yes," Spock replied, "Angela and I are acquainted. She spent a time on Vulcan before she was transferred to San Francisco for care. While there she showed remarkable adaptability and intelligence, her grasp of language was exceptional but that can be expected for one early in their formative years." Pike raised an eyebrow. "Angela was in the care of my parents, in the short months she was with us she became proficient in both Vulcan and Standard, her abilities seemed to have grown in the past two years, though not as much as I expected."

"Lieutenant Franz knows them, he works down with the education system," Pike replied, "He always finds her in the library reading or with a book in the mess when she gets food."

"Commander Saunders does not prepare her meals?" Spock asked. "They eat in the mess?"

"I don't know, maybe they eat there when he's working late," Pike replied. "Now, from what I remember Vulcans and water are not the best of friends…"

"I fail to understand how friendship can exist between a sentient being and non-sentient liquid mass," Spock commented.

"Figure of speech Spock. You'll need to…" Spock's ears twitched when he heard the scream and a splash of water. "Oh shit, is she ok?" Pike voice rose; Saunders looked up suddenly and there was a flash of emotion across his face, Spock did not notice in his panic. Angela struggled for a moment before the small body slipped below the water at the deep end of the pool.

"She cannot swim!" He shouted and he dove into the water, frantically paddling for the girl. Another cadet heard him shout and also dove towards the girl. Spock was both grateful and sorry for his enhanced lung capacity and secondary protective eyelids inherited from his father. He was able to keep his eyes on Angela and not loose her in the chemically treated water, but watch as she struggled against the water filling her lungs as he labored to reach her. He was still seconds away when she jerked and stopped moving, the other cadet was just locking his hand around her shoulder and pulling himself down to the floor of the pool when he reached them. Spock reached and gently wrapped his arm around her, feet pressing against the floor as he strove for the surface.

The three broke the surface of the water and Spock tilted Angela's head back against his shoulder, she was not moving. "She's not breathing," the cadet coughed as he caught his breath next to the two. "What species is she, is this normal?"

"No," Spock explained, "We have to get her out of the water." The other cadet quickly swam to the side and vaulted out of the pool.

"Call medical!" The young man shouted before turning back and offering his hand. "Here, hand her up." Angela weighed much more than a human child of her age and it caught the man off guard, but they were able to gently lower her to the pool deck. "Medical's on their way."

"She'll be dead in approximately ninety seconds," Spock replied, "Commander, please get the first aid kit." Spock gently undid the buttons on her blouse as he spoke, his fingers identifying the correct pressure point under her breast bone before pressing down. "If we have a…" He turned to see Pike pulling the kit off the wall, Saunders was no where to be found. "Commander, is there an intubation kit?"

"No," Pike replied, "Does she need a defibrillator?" Spock tilted her head back and forced carbon dioxide into her lungs.

"Not yet," Spock replied, waiting another moment before forcing more air into her lungs, he backed off and at the same time pressed down on her solar plexus. Water came out of her mouth and Angela began to gag, attempting to clear her airway. Spock quickly turned her to the side and helped press against her diaphragm as water continued to empty from her, the small body was shaking with fear at her inability to draw breath. Time was relative, and it seemed much longer for Spock as he waited for her to draw her first breath in nearly three minutes. "You are all right Angela." He reached around and re-fastened the buttons on her blouse, his other hand brushing the drenched hair from her face and neck. "Medical will be arriving soon."

By the time the two medics ran into the pool deck she was breathing normally, though with a rasp due to throat trauma. "What species she is?" The first medic asked, dialing his tricorder for basic information.

"Twiniian, those are close to her base readings," Spock replied, "She has possible throat trauma and water inhalation."

"I'm fine, I don't need to go to medical," Angela replied, shrinking away from the medics, "I just need to get back home."

"We just need to check you out and run a few scans," the medic replied, rolling her sleeve up and preparing a needle.

Spock suddenly noticed a bruise on her arm that looked very much like a handprint. He took the arm from the medic and gently traced his fingers over the darkened skin. "Angela wilat du prah nash?"

"Niekas," she replied, tugging the arm away and rolling her sleeve over the injury. Spock did not allow her to do so and took the arm again, rolling the sleeve up over her elbow. Both he, the medics, and Commander Pike saw the clearly outlined orange and brown bruise on her skin.

"Angela," Spock said gently, reaching his hand out to her face and quickly bridging the link between their minds. What he saw nearly caused him to retch.

Saunders' wife had been in the process of separating herself from him when Angela had been sent to him. He had requested the assignment as a last ditch attempt to save his marriage and it had not worked. Since his wife's departure Saunders had been nothing but distant, he did not give Angela the physical closeness her species needed for healthy cognitive development or the proper stimulation in her academic courses. Whenever she slipped into Vulcan or her own language she was…disciplined. Angela blocked the worst from him, but he saw Saunders strike the child at least once; more commonly he would grab her harshly and shake her when no one was watching. What was more disturbing was the Starfleet psychologist who was supposed to be helping Angela adjust turn a blind eye, stating it was normal to have disagreements with one's parents. Spock pulled out of her mind, horrified that the situation had gone on as it did.

"Angela is to be escorted to medical immediately," Spock ordered, "Catalog these injuries and I want deep tissue and bone scans for previous injuries. Commander, I will need to postpone my swim test. Angela has a very unique biology and they will need my information."

"Fine," Pike said, "Go get changed, I'll keep an eye on her till you get back." Spock exited the main pool deck and Pike leaned in closer to the small girl. "Your name is Angela right?" She nodded, her limbs clutched close to her chest since Spock had released her arm. "My name is Chris, how old are you?"

"We're still trying to figure that out," Angela replied, "But I think I'm somewhere around 8."

"8, practically a lady," Chris began.

"My title is classified," Angela interjected.

"That's all right, what can you talk about?" Pike asked, trying to keep the situation light.

"Everything is fine, I've adjusted well, I have a few friends and they like me and my classes are enjoyable," Angela replied. It sounded verbatim what anyone would want to hear, she even managed to look upbeat when she was obviously in a great deal of physical pain. Spock returned before Pike could comment, his hair still wet from the pool and dripping onto his uniform.

"Thank you Commander," Spock said, turning to the medics, "Are you ready to depart?" The nodded and loaded Angela onto the lift, her little body barely taking up half of the polymer surface. Spock waited until they were at Starfleet Medical before he left for a call station. Thankfully being the son of an Ambassador have him access to diplomatic codes and overrides that routed him directly to his home on Vulcan with little wait.

"Spock," his mother greeted. "Is everything all right? Why are you in medical?"

"Angela came to see me and after her guardian took her back she fell into the pool."

Amanda's hands rose to her face in shock. "No, is she all right?"

"Yes, according to the medics she only suffers from mild throat trauma and water inhalation. Mother, I believe she was pushed into the pool," Spock replied, "I do not have any evidence to support my claim other than the rapid exit of the Commander, but you might be able to acquire the security feeds from the pool level of the gymnasium."

"Are you still on planet?" Amanda asked, a pad already in her hands as she keyed in different instructions. Spock nodded in reply. "Remedy that, immediately. There will be a diplomatic shuttle waiting for you both at the embassy. I will contact them to send an armed escort if you do not arrive in twenty minutes." Spock nodded and the call disconnected, he quickly routed another emergency call to Pike. Thankfully he answered after the first ring.

"Spock," He began, "Everything ok?"

"Commander Pike, there is a family emergency that necessitates my immediate departure from Earth. The details of this will be disclosed shortly, may I contact you to reschedule my physical qualification exams once…"

"Spock, I've got it, you're on leave. Stop talking and get Angela out of here." Spock nodded quickly turned and made his way back to Angela's room.

"Good evening," the young nurse greeted.

"Please disconnect her IV line," Spock instructed. "I will be removing Angela to the Vulcan embassy."

"There is a flag on her fire," the nurse replied, going over his padd. "I cannot release her to anyone except Commander Saunders."

"Who gave that order?"

"Admiral Komack," the man replied.

"There has been no change after the evidence cataloged on Angela's arms?" Spock clarified. The nurse shook his head. "I am taking Angela with me, please excuse us." Spock turned and gently disconnected Angela from the machines, the nurse reached over and muted the alarms before they could alert the crash team. "Will you not get in trouble for your lack of resistance?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," the man said with a lop sided grin. "I was just in the other room for a moment and when I came back she was gone. There was nothing I could have done."

"A lie?" The Vulcan asked, a single eyebrow raised.

"An error," he said, "Get her safe."

"Thank you," Angela said quietly over Spock's shoulder. Spock walked calmly out of the emergency center, not wanting to draw attention to the young girl in his arms, her gold skin hidden against his neck. A few people watched him, but they were to busy to do anything right away. His vehicle was still parked outside and he loaded Angela into the passenger seat. She was quiet the entire way to the embassy and unto the ship, it wasn't until they cleared atomo she curled into Spocks neck and began to tell him everything. He just listened and comforted her; he had been unaware that when leaving the hospital they had passed Saunders, who had been traveling to pick her up.

Saunders entered the hospital to find Angela's room empty, the security footage showed Spock carrying her from the room. "Security," Saunders addressed the guard, "I need the last entry/exit log on Cadet Spock."

"Yes sir," the sergeant replied, keying in the commands to his display, "Cadet Spock left the east gate approximately forty minutes ago."

Saunders cursed under his breath and pulled up a map of the city. "The Vulcan embassy." He was escorted in once he flashed his Star Fleet identification and saw the reception. "I need to speak with Spock son of Sarek."

"One moment. Sir, I am afraid that you will not be able to speak with Cadet Spock at this time," the secretary said, "He was escorted off planet an hour ago and is en-route to Vulcan. There was an emergency that required his immediate return."

"He kidnapped a ward of Starfleet," Saunders yelled, "She is not a Vulcan citizen and must be returned immediately."

"I do not have the power to turn the vessel around, you'll have to speak with the Ambassador, if you like I can arrange a conversation in one of our private suites. The guard will show you where to wait." The young woman also keyed in a command for the officer to remain under guard for his stay in the embassy after his nearly violent outburst of emotion. Four consulate guards appeared and gestured for the man to follow.

It wasn't long before the Ambassador answered his request for a subspace call. "Commander Saunders, I was not expecting you call to arrive so late."

"Your son had kidnapped my ward and taken her off planet. I demand that ship be turned around and she is returned to me."

"I think it's time we reviewed the circumstances in which we allowed Angela to be housed on Earth," Sarek said, bringing up the paperwork from two years previous, "If you'll bring your attention to the clauses in section B it is stated that Angela remains in the care of the Vulcans. Her stewardship was transferred to Starfleet with the understanding that she would be placed in an environment where she would thrive. We have irrefutable evidence that Angela was being neglected. Section C outlines the legality of removing Angela from a dangerous environment and states that should she be delivered to the embassy with such reports that she was to be escorted back here as quickly as possible. As such the ship will remain on course and Cadet Spock was acting within his rights to protect the child."

"His continuing presence at Starfleet will have to be evaluated," Saunders glared. "Such a blatant disregard for the chain of command…"

"Actually you'll find my son is without reproach," Amanda interjected. "Here is a flag on his file, he requested emergency family leave citing extenuating circumstances and it was approved. He was 'off the clock' so to speak and was therefore not in violation of any Starfleet articles that I am aware of."

"Who approved that?" Saunders growled, keying in the commands for a conference. "I'm getting him on the channel."

"Yes Commander," Pike asked, it was obvious that he had been expecting the call. "Oh, Ambassador, T'nar pak sort y'rani. What can I do for you all?"

"T'nar jaral Commander," Sarek replied. "You can clarify the circumstances around the approval of my son's request for family leave."

"He stated a family emergency," Pike replied, "He did not volunteer specific circumstances and I did not ask."

"So you just approved it?" Saunders asked.

"Yes, I had no reason to believe that Cadet Spock was abusing his privilege to request family leave. Unless I have grounds to dismiss the request I do not, as a rule, ask specific circumstances about family matters unless the cadet asks for council." Pike said matter-of-factly. "Do you have evidence that the cadet was abusing his right to be with his family during an emergency?"

"I do not think so," Sarek said, "Commander Pike, if now is a convenient time, perhaps you could send a memo to the Admiralty, if they do not agree to host an inquiry into Angela's living arrangements then I will be forced to assert Vulcan law into the matter and investigate it myself. Commander Saunders will be held at the embassy until shore patrol retrieves him. Please let your superiors know to bring the appropriate paperwork when they wish to get him."

"Thank you Ambassador," Pike replied, disconnecting the call.

"You," Saunders sputtered, "You can't do that!"

"Angela has hand shaped bruises on her arms and they came from you," Amanda said, "We have a solid case for neglect and it won't be to much to prosecute you for child abuse. Would you really like me to get involved or do you want to use this time to place your call to Shore Patrol and let your commanding officers take care of this?"

Saunders was in Starfleet custody less than two hours after Spock had taken Angela off planet. The only thing that was certain at that time was he would not be holding his rank much longer.

* * *

AN: Thank you for reading, I own nothing. Expo. is done, might be a short chapter released soon to wrap up what happened with Saunders, might fast foreword and dive directly into the plot. Don't know yet.

Please review, fav, follow, etc.


	5. Chapter 5

Sarek waited patiently by the communicator in his office, Amanda had taken Angela to bed after Spock's arrival and surreptitiously planted a medical scanner on her mattress. The results from Angela's preliminary scans at Starfleet and her continuing scans here were not portraying the life he intended for the emotional creature. "I don't care what your stuffed up colleagues say," Amanda announced, sitting next to him on the couch, "Angela is not going back to Starfleet."

"I agree," Sarek nodded. "I am waiting for Starfleet's findings before I make any decisions."

"I want Saunders buried in an ant hill so I can pour honey on his head."

"I am not sure that I can find logical argument against the idea," Sarek replied. "Though it would not be horrific enough in my opinion. There is never an excuse for harming a child. If the High Council does not agree with my assessment then I will appeal T'Pau directly to adopt Angela into our clan."

"Has there been any news about my academic career?" Spock asked. "The embassy informed me of Commander Saunders accusations that I illegally kidnapped Angela and went AWOL while enrolled."

"No," Amanda said, running her hand over Spock's shoulder. "Pike placed you on academic leave before you took Angela, they can't touch you."

"I hypothesize that their goal will continue despite any evidence we present," Spock replied. "Saunders had emotional reason to behave as he did for a time, but why throw Angela into the pool? I think there may be more behind the treatment of Angela than a disrupted marriage."

"We must contain our argument to what we can prove," Sarek interjected. "Our goal is to keep Angela safe, everything else at this time is secondary to securing her future." Spock nodded and the rest of the wait was spent in silence.

"Ambassador," his aid said over his link, "Admiral Archer is calling for you." Sarek nodded and the call was connected.

"Ambassador," the older looking man greeted, "I wish it were under better circumstances."

"What have you found?" Amanda asked.

"It took several days, but we discovered a connection between Saunders and Terra Prime," Archer explained, bringing up several supporting documents. "It is a small organization that believes Terrans should expand their reign over the galaxy with no regard for native peoples. Saunders is facing a court marshal and will be dishonorably discharged from Starfleet after his prison sentence. Fines and post-containment probation has not been agreed upon by either side yet."

"He is pleading guilty?" Spock asked.

"Yes," Archer said, "And you young man, have escaped any disciplinary action as it is exceedingly clear you were acting in the child's best interest. I believe it is safe to assume you will be petitioning for the girl's guardianship."

"You're damn straight," Amanda burst out, "And I want a full evaluation of any psychologist that ever saw her and let her out of their office."

"A fair request," Archer replied. "I will have Amanda's things sent to you as quickly as possible. One of the investigators found a stuffed saber tooth tiger…?"

"Thank you," Sarek replied. "My forwarding information will be at the embassy. Do you have any further information for us?"

"Not at this time, all of the details will be in the files I am sending to your office. Is the girl all right?"

"She is safe now and she is aware of that," Sarek said cryptically, "Good evening." Sarek disconnected the call. "Spock, check on Angela's mental state, ensure she is having no trouble sleeping." Spock nodded and left to look in on his sibling. Amanda tucked herself under Sarek's arm and he allowed his chin to rest against her hair. "Wife, I fear is this not the last time we will need to defend her."


	6. Chapter 6

Six Years Later

* * *

Angela looked up at the tall buildings and the tall cadets that surrounded her. She'd stopped growing about a year ago, but she was hoping for another inch or two so that she could fit in a little better with the taller humans. She sighed and her shoulders slumped, she was kidding herself if she thought a fourteen-year-old cadet could blend in with people who were about a decade older with eons more experience. Angela hiked her bag higher on her shoulder and pulled out her schematic of the campus to find the engineering building. It had been worth all of the entrance exams and paperwork to get in early, the next time she saw Spock she would be a cadet he could be proud of. It didn't take long to get a hang of the building pattern and find her lecture hall.

The hall was sporadically filled, she found a seat in the fourth row towards the middle and pulled out her pad. The syllabus had been posted, but she wanted to go over it one more time in case she thought of any last minute questions. The Vulcan education system was ahead of humans in many ways, if for no other reason than the discipline taught to all Vulcans from an extremely young age. When she graduated from her general education field it held the equivalency to a two year degree from most Universities.

"Hey," a gruff voice interrupted her thoughts. Angela looked up and was met with a slight sneer on a cadet's face. "Startfleet Prep is down the street little girl."

"Yeah, there's no preschool division here," his friend grinned. "You lost? How old are you?"

Angela ducked her head and saw others looking at her, she already stuck out and these two were just making it worse. She just wanted to blend in with the other students and let her work speak for her as Amanda always taught her. It had earned her the begrudging respect of a few of her peers back on Vulcan. "This lecture hall is listed as the opening lecture for Into to Engineering and I'm old enough to have passed the entrance exams."

"What the frig are you dong in the Fleet, they can't be letting in teen girls now," the first one sat down next to her and snatched her pad.

"Hey," a female voice cut in. The three looked up to see a long pair of green legs that led to a full figure and beautiful face. "Why don't you two knuckle draggers go find someone of the same intelligence level to pick on? You're out-classed here and this young female is clearly to classy to show you."

"Hey, we were just asking some questions," the second one said, his eyes raking over her form.

"You sounded so mature," she replied, her red curls bouncing as she reached around to get the pad away from the older human. "Now go find your seats, this one's mine." She gripped the one in the chair and levered him out.

"You whore," the second one spat out.

"Oh please, at least come up with something original," the green girl groaned, lowering herself into the chair and pulling out her supplies. "Now stop causing a fuss or everyone here will remember your names for the wrong reasons. You're already causing quite a stir." Many people were already glancing over at the group and several took note of the two cadets. "Run along now." They grumbled something under their breath and walked up the stairs. "Sorry if I interrupted your plans of revenge, I can't stand those types."

"I'm just not used to them doing anything about it," Angela replied, "Most didn't see the point in antagonizing me when their focus was needed elsewhere. Thank you for getting rid of them."

"No problem," she replied, "I'm Gaila, freshman for Computer Engineering and Technicians."

"Angela, I'm a first year too," Angela introduced. ""I'm gong to focus on Theoretical Physics and Mechanical Engineering."

"Nice to meet you," Gaila smiled. The professor walked in and took his place at the podium. "Do you have a class next cycle?" Angela shook her head. "Well, lets grab some lunch after this."

"Sure." Angela took a few notes on the syllabus and second guessed her decision to take the entry level course. The Vulcans tailored their learning structure to Vulcans, as such it was accelerated and exceedingly focused. Starfleet had to accommodate dozens of species and learning styles into their curriculum, including those who were still learning standard even if their focus knowledge was above par. Her plan was to use the entry level course to adjust her learning style to fit the different class structure, but she didn't want to get bored. When the lecture was over students poured out of the lecture hall to go their separate ways. "Hey Gaila, mind if I ask you a question."

"Go ahead." The green woman replied, winking at a cute senior as they passed.

"Did you think that class was a little remedial? I mean, I spend the last few years in VA focusing on…"

"Wait, VA," Gaila asked, stopping the two on their way to the mess, "As in, the Vulcan Academy? You studied at the Vulcan Academy?"

"Yeah," Angela replied, shifting her bag on her shoulder. "I was raised there, a family on Vulcan took me in."

"Girl, you got to be on Vulcan, I have to introduce you to my roommate, she is going to loose her cool," Gail chattered, "Also, what are you doing in the introduction class, shouldn't you be off starting your own thesis or something? If you make an appointment with your councilor I bet they can still change around your schedule. Who do you have?"

Angela laughed, as she answered, Gaila had already given her a solution to her problem and passed over the fact she was not a Vulcan though she had been raised there. "Well, I'm not even sure, I still haven't gone through my whole in box - I had over a hundred messages today from different departments."

"Well, once you figure it out I'd send them an email for a meeting, they'll get you on the right path," Gaila said, "I started meeting with them over the summer before I knew what I wanted to work in, they got me on Computer Engineering with a track towards the sciences." They arrived and Gaila waved at a young woman with dark skin and a pony tail high on her head. "Uhura, over here." The young women walked over and smiled.

"Gaila, what's up?" She asked.

"Uhura, meet Angela, Angela, Uhura," Gaila introduced. "Guess which person in my Intro to Engineering got to study at the Vulcan Academy?"

"No way, how did you swing that?" Uhura asked Angela.

"I was raised on Vulcan, I'm a political refugee and I was taken in by a Vulcan family when I was younger," Angela explained.

"Crazy smart," Gaila offered, ushering the two into the food line. "Anyway…what the heck is that? Uhura, what is that? I'm not sure it's food."

"It's food, just not sure who for," Uhura said, "Grab the pizza, it's fresh from the oven." The girls each grabbed a few slices and a drink each before moving to the crowded tables. "So I don't mean to pry, as you mentioned you're a refugee, but I've never run into your species."

"I'm Twiniian," Angela explained. " butI was young when they found me so I don't remember all that much."

"I'm a linguistics major with a track towards communication, that's why I'm so interested," Uhura said, "I'm still having trouble with a dialect of Vulcan and it's hard to find someone to practice with."

"I had enough trouble with Andorian and my whole adoptive family speaks it," Angela commented.

"What's it like on Vulcan?" Uhura asked.

"Hot, all the time," Angela replied, "And until you get used to the thin atmosphere it feels like you're breathing a lung short."

"Going back to classes; you two are going to need to help me study both, it's a completely different phonology than what I'm used to." Gaila cut in. "I'm trying to knock out all my requirements before the really hard courses kick in."

"I'll help you," Uhura said. "Angela, interested?"

"Yes," the girl replied. "Thank you. Are there any courses you'll need help with."

"I'll probably be cashing in that favor next semester," Uhura replied, "I want to take a into course for technicians for some advanced troubleshooting methods, I'll need help once that starts up."

"Until then," Gaila said, washing down her pizza with a carbonated drink, "We're going to find time for the two of us to study. I have a feeling we have some of the same intro courses for Sciences and Mechanical Engineering tracks."

"Sounds like fun," Angela said, "Set your displays on the table, I'll sync our contact information. Then I hate to cut this short, but I have to get 3/4ths of the way across campus by the next cycle for my physical training qualifiers."

"Eugh," Gaila and Uhura both said at the same time.

"I hated those, I don't see why we have to pass a swim test," Gaila elaborated. "Which one do you have?"

"Self defense," Angela elaborated. "I know I'm going to end up needing some more instruction though so I'm not to worried about it."

"Almost no one tests out," Uhura said.

"Either way I want to make sure I'm warmed up," Angela said, throwing her display back into her bag. "Gaila, message me about free time, I looked ahead on the syllabus and if I end up staying in Intro to Engineering I want to start work on the group project sooner rather than later."

"Will do," Gaila replied with a wave, then Angela was gone, walking across campus at a more leisurely pace than normal, she didn't want to upset her stomach right before a fighting match. When she arrived at the gym she was dismayed to see the students from earlier on the warm up equipment. She hitched her bag higher on her back and quickly walked to the women's dressing rooms. All she had to do was keep calm and remember the past four years of training Amanda had insisted on after the events of her Guardianship. Her training instructor had been a practitioner of the martial arts for a standard century, he had studied and mastered dozens of styles from different worlds across the galaxy and was responsible for training the security forces on Vulcan. As Angela pulled on her physical training gear she remembered his teachings: her appearance would be judged so use it against them, surprise is your first weapon, agility is more valuable than strength when fighting larger opponents, and most fist fights light only seconds so never stop attacking until you are dead. They had been harsh lessons, but necessary, and Angela already knew some illogic brutalities of the world.

Thankfully there were a few female cadets in this cycle of physical testing so she would not be alone, though she saw the same men point her out to others in their group. Angela did her best to ignore them as she stretched and warmed up her muscles for the coming work out. "Good afternoon," the Lieutenant in charge of the class stated, "I've reviewed all of your files and assigned each of you a smaller group based on skill level to get started with. Please pick up a biomoniter and input your student ID to receive your assignments." Everyone grabbed a wrist strap, Angela plugged in her information and reported to group three when the Ensign and Cadet Aid called out group assignments.

"Hello, I am Ensign Rédaer," the Talarian greeted, covered from his neck down per custom. "Has everyone warmed up?" Everyone replied in the positive. "Good, right now we're going to pair off, Cadet Utvitch and I will go between the pairs and we might mix you up a bit. Are there any questions?"

"Sir," one female Cardassian asked. "Is this is a full contact or light contact match?"

"Light contact for now, we'll move to full contact later," he elaborated. "Count off and begin on the bell, we'll switch partners every bell." Angela saw only one of the men from that morning in her group, but thankfully another male was assigned to her for the first match. He was Terran and a bit wiry, though aggressive. He began with a series of punches to test Angela's speed and followed with a few more fast kicks aimed for the body. Angela dodged the attacks and blocked the last one, lightly tapping her hand against the back of his knee instead of a full contact blow. At the ninety second bell he nodded his head in respect and she was faced with the large female from earlier.

The groups shuffled around a lot in the first four rounds, some were bumped up to group two and others were sent for more training. Angela stayed right where she was. It was almost time for her to face the man from earlier when Rédaer called them in. "All right, we need to do at least one full contact round for each of you before we assign final class groups." He pulled out a display and keyed in a few commands. "Cadet Angela, front and center." Angela nearly rolled her eyes, the curse of all people who's name started with the first letter of an alphabet. "If you have not fought with Cadet Angela yet today please step foreword." Two people stepped from the circle, the Terran male scoffed when the Ensign raised his eyebrow.

"I'm sorry sir, but I don't fight teenage girls, it's not fair to them if they're put in the wrong class," he drawled, the comment was not made out of courtesy or politeness and he kept his spot on the edge of the ring.

"Cadet…" he referenced the display. "Penkela, thank you for volunteering. Full contact, no headshots, no groin shots, someone taps out and the round is done. Penkela step foreword and take your starting position." The man rolled his head and swaggered into the ring as the other two fell back. Angela quickly sized him up and tried to remember the fighting styles he'd used on the other cadets. "Go." Penkela laughed a little and took a joking stand before lunging for a widely telegraphed punch, Angela dodged it easily and stepped to his side, but did not attack the soft kidney tissue exposed there. Instead she took a step away, dodging more strikes and kicks as she did. Penkela was getting frustrated after the first few blows hit air.

"Hey, you need to take this seriously," he stated. "You can't just dance around like this is your junior prom."

Despite her training in logic, now seemed the more appropriate time for one of Amanda's Earth sayings: sometimes you have to knock a man down to earn some respect. Without warning Angela threw a combination block/strike at his next punch, targeting the area of nerves between the triceps and bicep muscles, numbing the limb. Using the foreword momentum he had, she hooked one leg behind his and brought it foreword while unleashing a flurry of centre-line shots to his chest. Penkela was forced to the ground and when Angela ceased her final shot to his solar plexus he had been rendered unconscious. Everyone in the circle blinked a few times. "Call for medical," Rédaer ordered. The other man from that morning watched in awe as his friend was quickly diagnosed and moved to a stretcher for transportation. "Cadet Angela, remind me of your previous training."

Angela almost immediately regretted her decision, she had knowingly used excessive force for the sparring match. "I've spent the past four years under daily instruction from Satok of Vulcan. He trained me in a variety of Martial Arts."

"Move up to section two," he keyed in a few commands on his display and her own wrist band reflected the change. "You two, up next." Angela nodded and steadied her breath before walking over to the next group.

"Hello Cadet," the new Ensign greeted, "Take a breather, we'll get you another round in a few minutes." By the end of the day she was assigned one of the higher intermediate hand to hand combat classes and she was sore to the bone. She didn't see Gaila in the mess hall so she grabbed a quick protein based dish and made her way back to her dormitory.

The double beds were still in their default setups, though they were made neither girl had time to really personalize the room beyond their vid collections, music collections, and Jessica's poster of a semi-clad male from a local band. Angela flicked the lights on and saw she had a message waiting from Vulcan, without reading it she selected the return call option.

"Hey Amanda," Angela said, smiling at the woman on the other end of the call. "How are things back home?"

"Usual," Amanda replied, "How was your first day?"

"Good, I think I made a friend," Angela grabbed the mobile unit and flopped on her bed. "And physical training tests are as hard as Spock told me."

"Take your boots off the bed," Amanda interrupted. "The campus may be clean, but its still outside. Tell me about your friend."

Angela rolled onto her back to pull off her shoes, which had never touched the bed but she knew better than to defy the woman who'd been raising her. "Her name is Gaila, she's an Orion in Computer Engineering with a secondary focus in Electrical Engineering, we had Introduction to Engineering together. I think I'm transferring to a more advanced class though. Her roommate's cool too, linguistics major, she offered to help me with Andorian."

"That's good, you still haven't gotten it have you?" Amanda asked, setting up her display and getting everything out for breakfast. "What about your roommate?"

"She's ok, but it's kind of like oil and water," Angela rolled back over and directed the camera towards the other side of the room. "Jessica's kind of a party girl, smart but I'm not sure we're going to be friends."

"As long as the two of you can get along," Amanda counseled, "Does she know what she's allowed to do?"

"She knows, and she's going to tell you if I misbehave."

"Good girl."

"I know, but I don't want to stick out, I just want to fit in with everyone else. I'm tired of everyone thinking I'm oh so different."

"You're unique Angela, that's not going to change, but you can't let that get in the way. Let your abilities speak for themselves, everything else will fall into place. There are good officers there that will not judge you because you decided to enlist early."

"Sarek did," Angela mumbled.

"I heard that."

"He hasn't spoken to me since I told the two of you I was enlisting."

"You are only 14, it's not to late to arrange a shuttle back, you can still put off enlistment for another four years."

"Please, not you too. I got a three page message from Spock explaining the logic of staying in the Vulcan Academy until I was 18 standard years."

"We just want to make sure that you have options, Starfleet is a big commitment for a 14 year old."

"I don't see the point of waiting four more years when I already know what I want to do with my life. And I'm not fourteen."

"Only technically and I still consider you my daughter."

Angela was quiet for a moment, her face a smooth mask perfected on Vulcan. "I don't think Spock is in range for subspace communication, I was going to write him a letter about my first day. I know he made his first friends in Starfleet. Then some of my professors already handed out assignments, I want to work ahead."

"Ok dear, comm me again when you have the chance." Amanda disconnected the call, in the background Angela heard Sarek inquiring about the caller. Angela set her pad down and sighed, Jessica had informed her she probably would not be coming back that evening as there was a beginning semester party. With nothing else to do she pulled on a comfortable pair of flannel pants and a hoodie before sitting down to write that message to Spock. It had been three years since she'd seen him in person, she didn't count sub-space calls as visits, and she missed him terribly since his deployment.

* * *

A/N: The fight scene for this is inspired by the fight scenes from Haywire and IP Man. Krav Ma Ga and Wing Chun would both be complementary styles to most Vulcan Martial Arts appropriate for someone of Angela's size/build.


	7. Chapter 7

She didn't remember the dream she'd been having before the device on her wrist started vibrating. It had't seemed pleasent, but didn't leave her with the bone chilling damp of a nightmare. It was probably a memory from her life before Vulcan. Angela pressed her snooze button and blinked her eyes open, stretching slowly to get a few knots out of her shoulders. It had only taken two weeks rooming together before she and Jessica agreed on silent alarms over standard clocks. Like Vulcans she needed less sleep than most humans, Jessica was a normal human in late stages of adolescence and required the extra sleep.

It was her day off of classes, but she had a full docket anyway. She'd decided to stay in the introductory class with Gaila, not wanting to leave her first real friend in memory, but to keep her mind busy she had a once a week internship at the physics labs helping researchers three hours a day. It was boring a lot of the time, but she got to read everything she wanted and was securing some great opportunities if she wanted to become a teachers aide or a tutor in her fourth year. Ideally it would also render some great opportunities for her career in engineering or the sciences. Either way she wanted out into the universe.

Amanda insisted it was because she followed Spock, in reality her reasons went deeper than that. Angela herself did not fully understand, but it felt right and she had never questioned her instincts since that day Spock pulled her out of stasis. The keycard for her internship allowed her early access to the dining facilities, as the 24 hour shoppe was hardly an alternative for anything resembling food, and thankfully there was one or two replicators running that early for just those reasons. It was mostly other interns in the cafeteria this early, most professors had their own kitchens to cook in. They only knew her by sight, the gawky girl to young for her roles and successes. Her golden skin to oddly matched with her blue hair to be considered the Earthly standard of beautiful.

Angela was happy enough to grab her fruit smoothie, jelly pastry, and be on her way. She couldn't stay late today since Spock was back from his first assignment and she was going to meet him at the spaceport. It would be exciting to spend the whole afternoon with him again, not over subspace communications or written messages. They could talk about classes, he could meet Gaila, they could visit on weekends, and more over he'd just be there. No matter how illogical to think about things she couldn't change, she had missed her brother during their years apart while he was off getting awards and proving to everyone how awesome he was.

Spock wasn't twenty-five yet, though he would be soon, and already held the rank of Lieutenant Commander. No doubt he got his promotions doing something foolish Amanda would have skinned him for back home. Naturally, Spock would give her the glossy versions and keep all of his companions from allowing her access to the official reports. Then again, life wasn't fair. Angela swiped into her lab and quickly got to work on programming the three dimensional codes for the professor's designs. The stack of programming models was half way done when her communicator went off.

"Angela," she greeted, balancing the device against her shoulder while she typed.

"Hey, you free?" Gaila asked. "My plans fell through and I feel like doing something other than studying for an afternoon."

"Well, I'm going to meet my brother when his ship lands," Angela said, "We were just going to hang out at his place…"

"Ok, if you two end in time for dinner…" Gaila cut it.

"I want the two of you to meet anyway," Angela interrupted. "Save me the trouble of dragging him out and come with me."

"Meet him or _meet_ him? Is your brother cute?" Gaila asked, her voice getting flirty.

"He's Vulcan remember, good luck with that one," Angela said, "Can I message you the information? I'm in the middle of coding models."

"Right, you're internship. Sorry. Message me and I'll swing by and meet you after lunch, see you after class." Gaila ended the call and Angela quickly sent her Spock's shuttle information so she could get any clearance she needed for the arrivals deck. Then it was back to coding in models so that when Makoss had to do meeting or project updates they were right at his finger tips. He was still pretty cool, some of the other interns had professors that made them get coffee and attended events they weren't supposed to and act as their assistances. Makoss didn't really care how and when she worked, as long as she got it done and ate lunch with him once a week for a status update. Yeah, she could have done worse.

Promptly at noon Makoss entered the computer lab after his morning lectures. "Angela, always working every time I'm in here. Shouldn't you be taking advantage of your youth and irresponsibly surf the internet during work hours?" Angela laughed. "You're done for the day, finish that code and let's get started. I know your brother's shuttle lands today so I brought take away."

"Thank you," Angela said, finishing up the code quickly for the new engine components. She couldn't wait until the components were more than three dimensional models so she could play with them. "What did you get?"

"I got Cha Gio, Bun Ga Nuong, and Mi Xao Don. Chop sticks or fork?" He unloaded the food on his desk, far away from technical equipment, and put out the go cups of tea.

"Sticks," Angela replied, packing up her supplies and typing up her weekly report with the other hand. "Do you know when the approval will come through for testing models on these designs?"

"Research presentations are in a few weeks," Makoss explained, "If we get approved they should be completed and ready for lab tests by the winter break. Do you know if you're going home?"

Angela shook her head. "The Ambassador doesn't have his schedule that far out yet. Spock and I will make plans closer to November if we're going to travel back."

"I'm sorry, I remember you saying there was some family tension," Makoss said, "Take you tea and pretend I did not just put my foot in my mouth." He handed her a cup and she smelled the steaming beverage. "What are your plans for the weekend?"

"Mostly just hanging out with Spock," Angela said, "I have a research project due in a few weeks I'm going to work ahead on. Hopefully clear up some more time when these will get approved. My professor said he'll consider me to sit on the panels as long as I'm far enough ahead in my work and there's a lot of competition."

"I would say so," he said, chewing around his noodles. "You haven't mentioned much sight seeing since you've arrived on Earth. Spock will have to take you around, we have a lot of historical sites in the city you would be interested in."

"I've been busy with school, maybe after midterms we'll go out," she reached the end of her notes and sent them off. "There's my write up for this week, so far we're right on schedule and barring a massive server fail all digital models should be ready for the pattern makers after funding presentations."

"This is good work Angela," Makoss said, Angela shrugged, "No, really. This is good, not for a fourteen year old but the work itself." Angela looked at the older man, it was the first time he had spoken to her like this. "I know there are people who hold back on their praise, because of your age, but you're good at what you do and you have a talent for engines. One day some lucky officer is going to snatch you up and you'll be the one designing engines that'll put these to shame."

"Someday," Angela replied, looking at the clock and noticing the time. "Mm, professor, my friend is going to meet me so we can go get Spock from port, we're gong to need to leave to get through security."

"I know, it takes a while these days," he replied, pulling up the files on his screen. "I don't see anything wrong with these so get out of here and enjoy your night, hurry and finish you might not get out of there until dinner time."

"We know, there's a shopping trip on the way home for fresh food," Gaila said, walking into the room as punctual as usual. "Angela, introduce us."

"Professor Makoss, meet Gaila from my engineering class, Gaila, Professor Makoss," Angela said. "You want to meet someone who's name you want to know in five years, she'll be in the top ten."

"We'll get to know each other later," Gaila smiled, "Angela's told me good things about you. Now hurry up and finish your tea, I've got a transport for the day and it's waiting outside." Angela complied and quickly made her farewells before climbing into the spacious transport waiting for them. Traffic wasn't bad until they got closer to the port, most crew had families come to pick them up, even if not all of them drive in then it was still a ton of manpower moving through the gates.

"Angela, here to pick up Spock of Vulcan," Angela said, pulling out her credentials and showing them to the guard. He ushered them to the diplomatic lane. Still backed up, but at last not the couple of kilometers the regular line was.

"Naughty," Gaila admonished once the privacy screen was in place again.

"Consolation prize for my race being wiped out," Angela replied. "I was thinking something simple and easy for dinner, maybe do big this weekend. Steamed spicy rice with vegetables?"

"Sounds good," the red head replied, watching the traffic inch past. She pulled a small display out of her pack. "What's Spock's shuttle number again? I imagine he got a pretty good disembark schedule, the middle officers always do."

"He's shuttle 1138," Angela replied, leaning over to look at the display as her friend pulled up the information. "Should have left the hanger an hour ago."

"Looks like he's landing on time but he still has to go through planet-side security," Gaila said, "Professor Wang from aeronautics says it's always a bitch for deep space missions. They have to go through everything."

"So you should mail all of your extracurricular purchases home ahead of time," Angela said, "Let's hope Spock didn't get anything worth declaring."

"Vulcan's are fuddy-duddies, no offense," Gaila laughed. "He'll be waived right on through on account of he wouldn't buy anything out of regulation." Angela laughed and flipped through the commands to pull his disembarking information. "See, he's off the shuttle and being moved right through."

Angela lowered the screen. "Driver, how long until we reach the arrivals?"

"About another five minutes ma'am," he stated, "You should be there with plenty of time to spare."

"Thank you," she replied, smiling before she closed the screen. "What do you think of the finals for engineering? I'm a little surprised he decided to take a practical application rather than theory for an introductory course."

"I'm not," the red head replied, "He's a starship officer at heart…" The conversation continued until the two finally reached the arrivals exit and were able to move from the vehicle and stretch their legs. Hundreds of beings moved around them, greeting loved ones or moving on their own with heavy packs from months or years on the same ship.

"I'm never going to see him in this crowd," Angela despaired, mostly seeing the shirts of taller beings as they milled around.

"Over here," Gaila said, grabbing her hand and pulling the smaller female to a column they could climb on. "Come on, up you get. I don't know exactly what he looks like."

Angela accepted the hand up and rolled her eyes and she settled into place beside her friend. "He's going to be the only Vulcan in StarFleet uniform. How could you not recognize him?"

"He wouldn't have changed to civilian clothing for the trip home?" Gaila asked, she was usually looking for an excuse to ditch the mini skirt/long sleeve jacket look she was being forced to don most of the day.

"Mr. Stickler? I doubt it, he'll consider himself off duty until we get back to his apartment, which of course will be to spacious for a single occupant." Angela laughed at the thought, he only had two boxes of belongings when he left from Vulcan, one of which had been clothing. It was unlikely his collection of objects had expanded much besides his instrumental purchases to replace those still at their ancestral home. "Wait, I think I see him." Sure enough, there was a tall, pointy eared frame walking through the archway separating customs from the main population. "Spock," Angela called, taking off through the crowd of people. "Spock!"

The taller male, anticipating her next action, smoothly set his bag on the ground and caught the girl as she threw her arms around his neck. His companion was surprised at the gesture, but Angela ignored Spock's ranking officer in favor of greeting the man in her arms. Her voice was barely a whisper in his ears, but he could tell the depth of her emotion. "I missed you sa-kai." He lowered her to the ground, but placed his forehead to hers in the traditional familial greeting of her culture, their forearms locked against each other.

"You are looking well ko-kai," Spock greeted in return, turning to the human he had been conversing with. "Commander Lipton, meet Cadet Angela." He was interrupted by a tall, leggy Orion making her own way through the crowd, calling out to Angela. "And you are Cadet Gaila?"

"Commander," she greeted, raising her hand in the traditional Vulcan greeting. "We have a transport waiting to take us to your quarters."

"Well Spock, you told me you had someone waiting for you," Lipton commented, "You didn't mention it was two very beautiful cadets. Ladies."

"Commander," the two greeted in unison. Gaila continued. "It's a pleasure to meet you, did you work with Spock in the Science division?"

"Yes," Lipton replied, "I served at the senior science officer, Spock shares my rank now but I'm under sworn oath not to breath a word of his promotion to you Angela."

"Commander," Spock replied, "You seem to be mistaken, I did not ask you to…"

"It's an expression Spock," the older man smiled, "You said it would worry your sister."

"Now I really don't want to know," Angela replied, "We were going to stop by the grocery on the way, pick up something for dinner while you unpack."

"I will not turn down the opportunity," Spock replied, "Commander Lipton, I will see you at debriefing." The older man nodded and Angela pulled Spock off towards the transport.

"Can you tell me anything of your previous posting?" Gaila asked, "I'm thinking of tracking towards the sciences myself, but the research on a planet or station seems so much more stable than on a starship?"

"It is difficult to compare the two," Spock explained as they loaded his bags, and then themselves, into the hover car. "There are pros and cons of both, stability is scarified for new and fascinating data. Unfortunately the constant influx of information does negate the ability to have long term projects and expansive research."

"Some of the professors here have been working and refining ideas about the fleet for more than twenty years," Angela commented, "Makoss has single-handedly headed all the research projects updating and securing our warp cores, safety measures have gone up because of his lab work."

"It is much easier to fake a core emergency in the lab than in the field," Spock commented dryly, "It is easier to evacuate a building than a star ship, the threat to life is much less when the exterior will bot boil blood in most bipedal creatures venous systems." Gaila laughed, not used to the literal formality of Vulcan speech.

"He means it seriously but we can discuss Spock's lack of humor later," Angela interjected. "Spock, what do you want for dinner, we're going to the World's Market on the way home."

"We were thinking vegetables with spicy rice," Gaila said, "Simple, quick, and filling?"

"An agreeable suggestion," Spock replied, "Does the driver have the correct destinations?" Angela nodded and the rest of the trip passed quickly. Spock directed each of the girls to get separate things for dinner while he picked up more substantial things to last him through the week until he could truly settle in.

"What a sight we must make," Gaila commented in the checkout line when she saw the looks they were getting. Spock raised an eyebrow. "A green girl with red hair, a gold girl with blue hair, and a Vulcan, all in Starfleet uniform. I feel like we're a walking punch line."

"Woldn't we need to be entering an establishment the traditionally serves overpriced alcohol instead of a food vendor?" Spock asked.

"True," Angela commented, double checking her ingredient list versus what was in the basket. "We've got everything we need right? I don't want anything interrupting us later, tonight's about good food and company."

"Nerts to that," Gaila said, also looking through the basket, a man behind them ogled her legs and short skirt.

"Do those legs go all the way up?" He asked, making a crude gesture towards the younger woman. Angela looked insulted and Gaila rolled her eyes.

"Are you aware sir," Spock commented to the human. "There are places in the universe where it is considered rude to talk about the physical attributes of another beings female companion?" Said female companions looked at the older male in shock. "I would suggest you find another line or I will report you to store security." The man nodded curtly and backed away to find himself somewhere else to stand.

"You watched those old vids I sent you?" Angela asked.

"The plot was stimulating and it's historical accuracy lent to a fictional yet appropriate study of the time," Spock replied, "I adjusted the quotation so it was more applicable to the situation at hand." He pulled out his credit chip. "Scan that so we may be on our way, it would be prudent to avoid the evening traffic." WIth that they quickly boxed up their purchases and loaded them in the trunk with Spock's luggage. Their driver took them to the Starfleet Officers Quarters and helped them bring their purchases to Spock's new apartment, his things from storage were already waiting for him.

Gaila whistled appreciatively. "Is this what all officers get? I have to accelerate my study plan."

"I will be planet side for at least the next four years, I have accepted research and teaching positions at the academy effective next semester," Spock said, "These type of billets are reserved for such stays."

"So we can visit whenever we want to?" Angela asked, pulling out the new tin of tea and locating the appropriate storage container for the kettle. "Fantastic, I can tell you all about the research internship I got."

"It's all she ever talks about," Gaila said, "She loves all the new shiny."

"Hey Spock, you focused in Computer Sciences, maybe the two of you would like to discuss programming…" With that Angela was blissfully out of the conversation for a few seconds while Gaila took over and she could just appreciate Spock being there and listening to him ramble about his work. Unpacking all of the food took almost no time and she moved on to pulling the opaque transport covers off furniture. She paused when she came to the one resting in the corner of the living area.

"Spock," Angela interrupted, pulling the cover off a beautiful piano, "Play for me. Please, I'll get everything for tea." There had been little Spock could have denied her in the first place, such a small request was easily agreed to. Gailia watched, surprised as Spock quickly wrapped up their conversation and took his place on the bench. His fingers moved gracefully over the keys, playing Angela's favorite song as she brewed the tea and set out three cups for them on the table.

"I would never have guessed he studied music," Gaila said, "It seems far to emotional."

"The mathematical properties of harmonious notes is a fascinating study," Spock replied from the bench, never missing a note. "Each exact note must be precisely delivered for the preceding and following notes to match it in a logical progression."

"It's one of the things the whole family could agree on was our enjoyment," Angela said, "Amanda insisted we both learn to play piano and Sarek had us learn the Vulcan lute in addition, though Spock plays a mean guitar if I say so myself."

"A musical instrument is an inanimate object, it cannot have a personality or emotions of any kind," Spock replied.

"The tea's ready," Angela said blandly, rolling her eyes to Gaila and handing a cup to the guest.

"That was well played Spock," she said, sipping the spiced beverage. He gave no acknowledgement of the comment, but replied with a question on her experiences in computer sciences. The rest of the evening passed in pleasant conversation and good food. Angela was so happy when Spock showed them to the door it almost felt like she was floating above the ground rather than walking on it.

"I will contact you about this weekend," Spock said, the warm glow from the living room framing his taller stature as he bid a good night to the two cadets. "We will see each other."

Angela threw her arms around him again and held him close. "I'm so happy you're back," she said before letting him go and stepping away to join Gaila.

"Thank you for an enjoyable evening Commander," she said, lifting her hand in the Vulcan salute. "Live long and prosper."

"Peace and long life cadet," he replied, returning the farewell.

Gaila slung her arm around Angela's shoulders. "And don't fret, I'll get this little one home safe and sound for you." Spock nodded his head and the door closed behind him, the two cadets practically skipping down the hall with leftover energy. "And I thought I'd be bored hanging out with the fuddy duddy all evening."

"I'm so glad you like him," Angela glowed, dodging past several faculty. "I was worried the two of you wouldn't get along."

"Get along, I'm going to steal him every chance I get," Gaila said excitedly. "Ugh, I can't wait to show him some of my ideas and get feedback. Is that against regulations?"

"Ask him when we all go out for coffee Sunday," Angela said, "Spock's taking me to a museum after lunch and you're coming along." The two bounced past other officers down the stairs and quickly walked back to their dormitories to rest before their weekend.

* * *

As this chapter is posted on Memorial Day 2013 for the US: A thank you to all men and women who have served in the armed forces around the world.

* * *

Hello all - sorry for the long break in updates….life happened and I give no other excuses. Please trust me when I say it was important to be there for the people I love when they needed it. Thank you everyone for sticking with the story and with me, I hope you enjoy it's continuation.

~Verya

P.S. Don't worry, I will change the later plans to incorporate Into Darkness as this world would be a darker place without Benedict Cumberbatch. (Good God man - if I didn't already love you…)


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